The heart and soul of humanity…..this place they call Egypt is the epitome of mystery fused with history. To drive down the narrow roads of Giza towards the great pyramid brought out some of the most primal goosebumps I have ever had
As our private guide Rasha who is an egyptologist, described the 3 major pyramids, I couldn’t help imagine the people who live there during the heyday of the Egyptian Empire.Oh the stories those thousands of limestone blocks could tell!!! we are absolutely exhauseted tonight so I will keep the writing short and let the photos speak for themsleves. There are so much more to come as between Steve and I we took over 600 images today!! OMG what a job this will be when we get home but a true labor of love!!
I loved these girls looking to the Sphinx with the hot wind blowing their ponytails
The Sphinx was carved from a single piece of stone in the bottom of a quarry Rasha tells us
Bling getting into the act. Rasha must think I’ve lost my mind but she was such a great sport!
Steve went hat shopping at the hawkers on the pyramid site. He lost his sunglasses and the glare was brutal
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Indiana Jones would be proud of Steves haggling skills!!!
The sky was so incredibly blue today. I love this shot
From behind…ok..gotta say it…the “Sphinx-ter”
Thanks Rasha for taking this awesome photo of us..WE ARE HERE!!!
But Rasha…this one is actually my fave. Mz Greek Goddess wannabe Egyptian Princess was determined to pop into every person’s photo with her “pose” OMG it was so funny . Her family quit t aking photo of her long before this shot was taken.
Following the breathtaking pyramids and sphinx we decided to do the Feluca boat ride next. What a peaceful time we spend on this non motorized , traditional Egyptianl sailboat, zigzazzing across the Nile. I would totally do this again and our boat pilot was incredibly skilled. At one point he disappeared completely from sight.
After we looked closer , he was at the top of the mast folding it down and tieing off ropes. He was 6o years old and as nimble as a 20 year old
Hopping from one section of the boat like a kid!!
Wooooooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooo..Rasha came through for me bigtime , finding the best bead shop in the Bazaar!!! I could have gone completely crazy but instead chose to look around and get a few choice things like scarab pendants. When I return later this week I’ll be able to shop with a clear head…there were WAY too many temptations
Here’s Rasha getting into the bead mode too!!
This was sooooooooooooooo cool!! A huge vat of handmade beads!!! I was shamelessly fondling
One of the designer’s work stations. They were so kind to allow me to take photographs
Then there was the SPICE man!! Wow could he put on a good sales pitch and I ended up with a huge bag of high quality saffron , some hibiscus flowers for tea, and a barbeque spice mix for African grilling.
I’m so happy with what I found here and he was quite the flirt. I even got some freen musk incense from him …Liz and Bry you will love this stuff!
Another photo of the jewelry shop
Our incredible street food lunch at the Bazaar. Lamb Kofta kebabs and a tahini dip with vinegar and garlic
This cat could be a model for the Egyptian Tombs. What a cutie beggar at our table. Steve was such a sucker for the kittens
Shoe sales are Shoe sales…..no matter where you are in the world!!
And the shoe shine guy
W
And of course whats an Egypt blog without the camel??
I have so many more photos to show you from today. Man colorful ones from the bazaar adn pyramids. As I sit here in our room , we have our door wide open on the balcony with a cool breeze blowing in with the street FULL of music and dancers and beeping car horns!! The Egyptians love live and celebrate EVERYTHING!!!
Tomorrow we plan to go down to the Nile riverside and party with the locals. We absolutely adore Cairo.
Thank you Rasha for a spectacular day. I’ll add your contact info here tomorrow.
BE SURE TO CHECK THE NEW AUDIOBOO UPDATE IN THE UPPER RIGHT COLUMN!!!
OMG these were frightening dolls!! Would you give this to your kid??? LOL!
I listened to your audioboo a little while ago. It was clear as could be today. What a fabulous day you’ve had. You must be exhausted. Thanks so much for the wonderful updates of your day.
Love,
Bonnie
OMG Sandra…your pictures take my breath away! Pyramids, the Sphinx AND BEADS…WOW! What amazing shots (love the wannabe Egyptian Princess and the black cat can’t help but be cool!). I keep checking to see if you’ve added more from your fabulous travels…I just can’t get enough…LOL!
Lots of Love, Lois 🙂
Hi Bonnie!! So great to hear that the Audio Boo is sounding good today. We had such a blast pyramid hopping and shopping. I wish you could be here too!! I’m falling madly in love with Cairo!!!! It’s a culture shock for sure but the people are so friendly and excited to see Americans that any intimidation factor is erased pretty darned quick!!
I have some incredible pix of the pyramids I’m saving for later since I wan’t to do the proper adjustments in Photoshop first at home.. Hows that baby boy of yours???? Any shows coming up soon????
Luv ya to bits!!!!
Hi Lois!! Looks like we are on the same time schedule!! Thanks for looking at the blog and commenting. YOu know how I look forward to seeing you all here!! That kitty was so cute . She was practically in steves lap for the lamb and the shop owner kept shooing her away. Whodathunk Steve would be such a softie for cats when he’s so allergic!! Diana you would have loved it too!!
ahhhhhhhhhhh all I can do is sigh and wish I could have come along in your luggage LOL
Love the pics and the descriptions of everything. I can’t imagine seeing the sphinxes and the pyramids in person, they are just invoke such imaginings and mysticism.
The kittie was so cute.. I would be trying to feed all the stray animals tho.
And I personally LOVED the SPHINX-TER comment
Can’t wait for your next chapter 😉
What breathtaking photos! Wish I was there too 🙂 Sounds like it is an incredible trip! Keep posting!!!
love,Deb
Hi Sandra,
I love these pictures. I can’t believe how close you were able to get to everything. The pictures and your commentary really bring everything to life. (I love the camel sitting down in the midle of the street. It almost looks like some Jim Henson creation) Hope you and Steve (or “Indiana Miller” ) are enjoying every minute!
Your pictures and comments are so interesting. You really cover it all. Its time for that book, ‘Sandy… The weather has really cooled down , but no rain and we sure need it. Gosh I can’t get over all those beads beads beads!!
OK…I went there, too! Sphinx-ter…in the bottom of the quarry. Man, I am shameless, but hey, I at least have company!!! I am glad you guys are having such a great time!!!
Amazing!!! I love the pics and of course “Mr Indiana Jones”. The color, culture, and excitement are fab!! I must devulge to you, I have become a total addict to beading, and what an unbelievable selection. Thanks for sharing . NM
STEVE W/KITTIES?????? Where are the sneezies? I loved the black kitty—-so like Maybe. BTW Fanny’s OFA Normal elbows and EXCELLENT hips. Now we just need baby Fanny’s. No pun intended—goes along with your pyramid and sphinx-ters don’t you think? Keep the pics coming-I’m lovin’ it.
WOW!! Looks amazing so far! And the BEADS… You would have to drag me away from there kicking and screaming. Love all the photos, especially the one of you and Steve with the “Goddess” in the background. Cute!
Hi Sandy and Steve,
I can’t get over the color quality of your photos – of course you being an artist doesn’t hurt! Larry is late for dinner which made those lamb kebabs look even more appetizing! Can’t wait for the next installment. Jan
hey everyone!! Good Morning from Cairo!!!! Oh Boy what a treat to wake up to all your wonderful comments.. It may sound silly but it’s the first thing I think of when I get up is…” I wonder if anyone stopped by to say hi”!!! The internet has sure brought travel to a whole new level hasn’t it?
I can’t scroll backwards easily through all the comments on the Iphone to respond to each of you directly but had to say the Jim Henson character concerning the camel is SO accurate. and Jan I hope Larry got home before you broke out the skewers..lol!
Mom adn all my friends in the midwest, I bet that cooler weather is a nice change and the trees should start turning too!! Diana OMG this is such fantastic news!!! For those of you who don’t know what a “Fanny” is….shes a wonderfully cute chow of Dianas with a sense of humor I have only seen in one other Chow , and that is my Cairo who Torri has now. Both cut from the same mold. I’m so thrilled about that great hip score Diana !! A huge Congrats!!!
And yes…the BEADS were awesome. This guy had 4 stories in an old building with stunning mosaiced floors …FILLED with strands and loose beads. The hand carved cabochons and pendants were really unique and like nolhing I’ve seen other places so I concentrated on those for the time being. I have a lot of other photos from his shop too. He was a very gracious host!! Nan, Im so glad you love beading!! It’s incredibly addictive!!!
The one thing we noticed right away is no matter whether we are in a higher end neighborhood, or the less fortunate areas, we see very few stray animals and street people for that matter. It’s kind of weird. For a city of 18 million it just seemed very strange. Portland has more obvious “obvious” homeless people and animals than we have seen here so far. Maybe as the week progresses that will change.
I think I’ll use my time this morning before we head to the Egypt Museum to do anotehr post with more pix from yesterday!! THANK YOU ALL for coming by to visit us. I’ll do an AudoBoo or Two today as well………Huggggggggggggggggggggggggggggs
OMG! Great pics, what a beautiful day it must have been.
The “Sphinx-ter” pun was classic! Loved it!
The “Goddess Girl” looks like she’s right out of the “walk like an egyptian” music video from the Go Go’s way back in the day. It really makes the picture though.
Love that camel pic too, heck I love them all. I love Egypt,always have. When I was a kid my Mom absolutly refused to take me to the King Tut exhibit when it was in NYC because of the “curse” . We were just talking about that tonight, still mad at her for that LOL.
Woulda spent ALL my allowance in that bead shop, my hubby woulda kept me away from there till the last day…he knows me!
You and “indiana get some rest and find us some more great stuff to see